North East Lincolnshire’s leading local politicians have come together in a joint call to arms to local residents and businesses to combat the spread of Covid 19.
In a joint message, Council Leader Philip Jackson, Labour group Leader Matt Patrick and Leader of the Liberal Democrats , Steve Beasant, have responded to the growing numbers of cases in the area with a direct collective appeal, below:
“Covid-19 isn’t going away just yet. The increase in the rate of growth of infection and transmission in the borough is extremely worrying. In the first wave of the infection, we were very lucky. However, this second wave has hit North East Lincolnshire very hard.
“We are now seeing significant impacts on our daily life. Our hospital is approaching the limits of what it can deal with, but our education system, our economy and our day-to-day way of life are also being affected greatly.
“We’d like to thank those businesses that have put Covid-secure working arrangements in place so that people can continue to work. And to those private, public and voluntary sector organisations that are still providing much-needed help to the community, another thank you.
“But we’re still seeing more outbreaks in care homes, in schools, and in the workplace across our borough. The virus is still finding a way through. Evidence is suggesting that predominantly household mixing and social interaction – including trips to and from work – is giving the virus chance to spread.
“More and more people we talk to now on a daily basis are now telling us how they, their families and friends have been personally impacted – severe illness, sometimes long-term, and sadly in some cases, death of loved ones.
“We need to pull together to help prevent this. We are at a key point where we can all make a difference.
“When this latest national lockdown comes to an end, it’s likely that the borough will, at the minimum, return to Tier 2 restrictions – and there is the strong possibility that Tier 3 is looming if we don’t do something to help prevent the spread.
“The reality of this is that on the run up to Christmas, if we don’t pull together, we may be in a situation where sadly, meeting up through the festive season will be the least of people’s worries.
“We’ve put politics aside to issue this joint message – this is about our area, and what you, as our residents, our businesses, can do to help this place that we all love to once again show what a great community we are. Together we can beat this.”
Share this article